Is Becoming a CPR Instructor Worth It?

I’m gonna be straight with you because I see this every week.

People ask: “Is becoming an instructor worth it?”Sometimes yes. A lot of times… no. Not because CPR isn’t important—but because a lot of people walk into this thinking it’s a quick side hustle… and it turns into something way bigger than they expected.

The WHY question that tells me everything

Before anyone gets trained, I screen them. I ask one simple question:

“Why do you want to be an instructor?”

That answer tells me everything.

If someone says:

• “My workplace needs an in-house instructor.”

• “I want to train my staff the right way.”

• “I care about doing this correctly.”

That’s usually a solid start.

But if someone says:

• “I saw someone doing it and I can do it better.”

• “Easy weekend money.”

• “How much are the ecards.”

That’s usually the beginning of a problem.

Workplace instructors usually do better (until they try to hustle)

Here’s what I’ve seen: people who become instructors for a company/workplace tend to do better at first—because the company often pays for:

• equipment

• supplies

• materials

• and there’s oversight/structure

But when they leave that job and try to turn it into a side hustle, something changes. Now it’s about:

• speed

• volume

• profit

• “how fast can I get people in and out?”

That’s when corners start getting cut.

The industry got messy during COVID (and we’re still feeling it)

Not everyone—but a lot of instructors who came up during the COVID era were never truly trained to run a clean, compliant class. Virtual options made it easier to “get through,” and some programs made it way too easy.

The result is what I still see now:

• weak class control

• little to no coaching

• skills not corrected

• poor documentation

• “optional vs required” confusion

And at the end of the day, CPR training is not supposed to be “easy.” It’s supposed to be effective.

AHA is enforcing the rules (and the rules are not optional)

This is the part people don’t want to hear: AHA is enforcing standards. Virtual shortcuts have been rolling back, and expectations are clear.

For example, AHA put it in writing that provider-level virtual training options were discontinued as of June 1, 2023 for multiple healthcare provider courses.

And AHA is clear that psychomotor skills still require hands-on sessions for courses that need them.

“One-on-ones” and the 4-hour story

Back in the day, if I didn’t have what I needed to run class correctly—I cancelled. If someone showed up late—they got turned away. Standards were standards.

Now, I see people pushing one-on-one sessions as the “business model,” and then claiming it was a full “4-hour class” every single time.

Can a one-on-one take a long time sometimes? Sure—if someone struggles, needs language support, anxiety is high, lots of remediation, etc.

But most of the time, one-on-one moves faster than group training. So when the paperwork always says “4 hours,” but the reality doesn’t match… that’s how people end up on the radar.

Here’s the part people hate: no compliance = no eCards

If training isn’t compliant, cards shouldn’t go out. Period.

Because when a training center puts out bad training, it doesn’t just “look bad.” It turns into:

• refunds and complaints

• schools/employers losing trust

• monitoring, flags, stopped rosters

• and worst case—someone gets hurt because they were “certified” but not trained

This is where people get mad, but I’d rather deal with someone being mad today than deal with something tragic later.

The revocation list is real (and it’s public)

This is the part I wish more people understood before they chase the “easy money” route:

AHA publishes an actual Revoked Instructor List document.

And revocation isn’t something a training center “does to you.” AHA makes that decision. One AHA resource even states (in plain terms) that the Training Center Coordinator can’t revoke instructor status—that’s AHA’s call.

So if someone is thinking: “Worst case, I’ll just switch training centers”… no. This can follow you.

“Do Not Align” is a real-world thing (even if you never see a public list)

People also don’t realize how much alignment matters.

Instructors have to align with a Training Center/Training Site inside AHA systems to operate correctly.

And if your name gets tied to non-compliance—TCs can refuse alignment, remove alignment, and protect themselves. Whether or not there’s a public “do not align list” you can browse, the practical effect is the same: doors close.

People only care when it’s real

A lot of students don’t care during class—they just want the card.

But when their loved one collapses…when they see someone doing CPR on the floor…that’s when it becomes real.

And that’s why I say this all the time:

If you’re in it for the money, you’re in the wrong business.This is about saving lives—and protecting the credibility of the training.

So… is it worth it?

If you want to be a real instructor—yes.If you want a quick side hustle—no.

Because it’s not “teach a class, get paid.” It’s:

• standards

• documentation

• oversight

• remediation

• accountability

• and real consequences if you cut corners

If you still want to do it after knowing all that—and you want to do it the right way—then you might be built for it.

But if what you really want is quick cards and quick cash… trust me:it’s not worth the stress, the refunds, the complaints, the flags, or ending up on a revocation list.